Electrical connectors are well known in the electrical wiring industry and can be either a male electrical connector or a female electrical connector. The male and female electrical connectors can take various configurations. For example, the male and female electrical connectors can each be connected to the end of a multi-connector cable. Alternatively, either the male electrical connector or the female electrical connector can be mounted on a wiring enclosure or a piece of equipment. A male electrical connector, which is mounted to an enclosure or a piece of equipment, is called an inlet. A female electrical connector, which is mounted to an enclosure or a piece of equipment is called a receptacle or outlet.
Male electrical connectors include at least two, and typically at least three, prongs or contacts extending from a housing for Joining with a complementary number of contact holes formed in a mating female electrical connector. Shrouded male connectors include a cylindrical shroud extending from the base of the housing and encircling the prongs. The shroud is normally at least as long as the prongs and is often slightly longer than the prongs such that the prongs are slightly recessed in the shroud. The shroud primarily serves to protect the prongs from damage during shipping and handling of the electrical connector.
A mating shrouded female electrical connector or receptacle typically has a cylindrically shaped retainer body which is received within the shroud of the male connector and a shroud with a cylindrical recess encircling the contact retainer body to receive the shroud of the male electrical connector therein.
Electrical connector assemblies of the locking type are well known in the electrical connector industry, and are commonly used to prevent accidental separation between a plug or male electrical connector and a receptacle or female electrical connector. Normally, the female connector of such an electrical connector assembly has two or more arcuate, circularly arranged slots, while the male connector has an equal number of arcuate blades which are dimensioned and arranged for insertion into the slots of the female connector by a simple axial movement, and then, via a rotation of one or both of the electrical connectors, the blades can be moved into a position from which they cannot be separated by simple axial movement. To accomplish this, one or more of the blades usually has an L-shaped configuration in which the laterally extended portion, or flag, of the blade engages a recess or shelf within the slot of the female portion as a result of the rotation.
Examples of various rotatable locking type electrical connectors are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 2,396,901 to Tiffany; 3,393,395 to Hubbell; 3,784,961 to Gartland; 3,945,702 to Poliak et al; 4,213,667 to Wittes; 5,046,961 to Hoffman; and 5,108,297 to Hoffman et al.
Electrical connectors are subject to inadvertent connection to a power source which can result in undesirable operation of electrical equipment or electrical shock to an operator and the injuries associated therewith. This has caused regulations to be enacted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which require safety mechanisms to prevent the inadvertent and unauthorized connection of electrical conductors. These regulations require a locking mechanism such that the electrical connector cannot be inadvertently connected to a power source while an electrical device is being serviced or otherwise in a condition where the power is undesired. The locking mechanisms must provide limited access and require a key or other security device to prevent unauthorized connection.
Efforts have been made in the past to produce a locking electrical connector and particularly locking male electrical connectors to prevent unauthorized connection. Examples of various locking electrical connectors may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,844,805 to Darrell; U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,914 to Hough; U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,969 to D'Amato; U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,961 to Hoffman; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,445 to Ehrenfels.
The above-noted patents disclose locking mechanisms which are relatively complex and expensive to produce. In addition, some of these locking mechanisms are complicated to manufacture and use and require a large number of moving parts which are subject to failure. Furthermore, some of the previous locking mechanisms have not provided the necessary security to prevent unauthorized use of the connector.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there exists a need for an electrical connector housing adapted to receive a locking mechanism or member for preventing inadvertent and/or unauthorized connection thereto. This invention addresses this need in the art, along with other needs and/or problems which will become apparent to those skilled in the art once given this disclosure.